Methods and articles to control the gas-particle partition of an aerosol to enhance its taste characteristics

ABSTRACT

A method and article are provided for controlling an inner filter temperature of an aerosol-generating product or device to alter the aerosol taste characteristics. The method comprises selecting a heat adsorbing or reflecting material to apply to a filter of a smoking article, the heat adsorbing or reflecting material having one or more properties associated therewith; and applying the heat adsorbing or reflecting material to the filter, the at least one heat adsorbing or reflecting materials being configured to control the inner temperature of the filter.

CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/648,269, filed May 17, 2012,titled “METHOD AND APPARATUS TO CONTROL THE GAS-PARTICLE PARTITION OF ANAEROSOL TO ENHANCE ITS TASTE CHARACTERISTICS,” the disclosure of whichis hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to altering the tastecharacteristics of an aerosol, and more particularly, to a method andarticles for controlling an inner filter temperature of anaerosol-generating product or device to alter the aerosol tastecharacteristics.

BACKGROUND

Conventional mentholated and non-mentholated less than full flavorcigarettes include perforated or porous filter paper wrapper to provideair dilution of the mainstream smoke. During puffing of a cigarette,fresh air penetrates the perforated filter wrapper paper and dilutes thecigarette mainstream smoke. Accordingly, total delivered cigarettemainstream smoke is reduced by the air dilution. In this manner, theoverall particulate and gas phase components of the mainstream smoke arereduced.

Even though the use of air dilution to reduce total mainstream smokedelivery is very effective and controllable, it might result inunfavorable influences on taste signature because it dilutes the tobaccotaste and it is known to produce an undesirable harshness to the smoker.Cigarette designers typically undertake extensive development efforts atsignificant costs to develop specific tobacco blends in an effort toovercome these undesirable influences on the cigarette tastecharacteristics.

Other technologies used in the industry to reduce specific gas phaseconstituents include incorporating carbon particles, polymeric resinsand clays in the filter structure. These additives remove non-desirablecomponents such as aldehydes, ketones, aromatic hydrocarbons, and othervolatile organic compounds from the mainstream smoke. They have beenfound to be very effective abatement technologies. However, smokersreport these cigarettes tend to exhibit off-taste. These taste changespotentially affect the rate of adoption of these potentially reducedexposure smoking articles.

The off-taste changes in taste signature resulting from the abatementtechnologies occur because the abatement technologies are not singularlyspecific to any smoke chemical component and remove desirable chemicalcomponents from the smoke stream.

On the whole, cigarette mainstream smoke is characterized as formed byparticulates, semi-volatiles, and volatile components. The distributionsof these components determine the smoking experience. Abatementtechnologies implemented upstream the cigarette mouth piece and towardthe heating zone (i.e., air dilution, adsorption beads, column aerationmodification, incorporation of modified tobacco leaf and stem) changethe smoke component distribution and the rate of smoke fractiondelivered as well. These changes, because the might alter thegas-particulate distribution/amount, affect the organolepticcharacteristics of the delivered smoke.

Furthermore, the perceived taste or strength of the cigarettesclassified as having lower levels of “tar” and nicotine areprogressively lower than that of cigarettes which are classified as“full flavor” cigarettes. It has been proposed to add numerousflavorants to the cut filter of lower “tar” cigarettes to enhance thetaste, strength and satisfaction of such cigarettes. However, suchaddition of flavorants generally results in cigarettes that might beperceived as harsh or irritating to the mouth, nose and throat of thesmoker.

Because of these shortcomings, the art is continually searching formeans to improve the flavor of smoke produced by a burning tobacco rod.Therefore it is desirable to provide less than full flavor cigarettessuch as “low tar” or/and “ultra-low tar” cigarettes capable ofdelivering a good tobacco taste, strength and smoking satisfactioncharacteristic of a full flavor low tar cigarette while being perceivedas palatable but not as overly harsh, irritating or having off-taste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to methods, compositions, andcigarette designs to control the gas-particulate partition of smokecomponents in the delivered smoke of smoking articles to enhance theirorganoleptic properties with respect to full flavor (FF) cigarettes andreduced tar or less than full flavor (LF) cigarettes.

According to an aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing asmoking article having enhanced taste characteristics is provided. Themethod comprises: selecting a heat adsorbing or reflecting material toapply to a filter of the smoking article, the heat adsorbing orreflecting material having one or more properties associated therewith;and applying the heat adsorbing or reflecting material to the filter,the at least one heat adsorbing or reflecting materials being configuredto control the inner temperature of the filter.

The heat adsorbing or reflecting material may comprise a metallized foilmaterial.

The metallized foil material may comprise one of aluminum, silver,copper or gold.

The applying the heat adsorbing or reflecting material may compriseinserting the heat adsorbing or reflecting material into the body of thefilter.

The applying the heat adsorbing or reflecting material may comprisewrapping a filter absorbing matrix of the filter with the heat adsorbingor reflecting material.

The smoking article may comprise a less than full flavor smokingarticle, and the method may further comprise applying one or moreventilation holes to the filter.

The one or more properties may comprise at least one of a type of heatadsorbing or reflecting material, a surface roughness, or a mass.

The selecting the heat adsorbing or reflecting material to apply may bebased on at least one of the one or more properties.

The smoking article may comprise a full flavor smoking article, andwherein the applied heat adsorbing or reflecting material is configuredto raise the inner temperature of the filter.

The smoking article may comprise a less than full flavor smokingarticle, and the applied heat adsorbing or reflecting material may beconfigured to lower the inner temperature of the filter.

The method may further comprise determining at least one of a position,size, number and shape of one or more ventilation holes to be applied tothe filter to control a temperature gradient of the filter.

The method may further comprise determining at least one of a size and amaterial composition of the heat adsorbing or reflecting material tocontrol a temperature gradient of the filter.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a smoking article isprovided. The smoking article comprises: a filter material that capturesand substantially removes unwanted components in an aerosol; and a foilthat is configured to control temperature of the aerosol, so as toprovide a full-bodied flavor to the aerosol.

A longitudinal length of the foil in the smoking article may comprise atleast 50% of a longitudinal length of the filter material.

The smoking article may further comprise a hole provided in the foil tocontrol a temperature of the aerosol.

The foil may comprise an annular axial foil material. The foil maycomprise: aluminum; silver; copper; or gold. The foil may be configuredto decrease temperature of the aerosol.

According to a still further aspect of the invention, a smoking articleis provided that comprises: a filter material that captures andsubstantially removes unwanted components in an aerosol; and a foil thatis configured to control temperature of the aerosol, so as to provide afull-bodied flavor to the aerosol, wherein: a longitudinal length of thefoil comprises at least 50% of a longitudinal length of the filtermaterial; the foil comprises a hole to control temperature of the filtermaterial; the foil comprises an annular axial foil made of at least oneof aluminum, silver, copper, and gold.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood after a reading of the followingdescription of the preferred embodiments when considered with thedrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a method for manufacturing a smokingarticle having enhanced taste characteristics;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of an example of a smoking article having ametallized foil outer wrapper;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematics of an example of a smoking article havingannular coaxial metallized foil wrapper;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematics of an example of a smoking article havinga centered coaxial metallized foil wrapper;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematics of an example of a smoking article havinga centered coaxial metallized foil insert;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematics of an example of a smoking article havingexternal and internal metallized foil wrappers;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematics of an example of a smoking article havingmultiple insert foil wrappers;

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the filter temperature change as a function ofpuffs over time with respect to conventional cigarettes;

FIG. 9 is a chart illustrating relative consumer preferences of thetaste characteristics of a non-mentholated cigarette embodying thepresent invention compared to a non-mentholated prior art cigarette;

FIG. 10 is a chart illustrating relative consumer preferences of thetaste characteristics of a mentholated cigarette embodying the presentinvention compared to a mentholated prior art cigarette;

FIG. 11 is a chart showing the mainstream smoke analyte levels forvarious cigarettes embodying the present invention.

FIG. 12A is a schematic of a method and apparatus for measuring the gasphase and particulate phase components of cigarette mainstream smoke;and

FIG. 12B shows an example of a gas and particulate phase component(GPPC) measuring apparatus that for measuring the gas phase andparticulate phase components of cigarette mainstream smoke;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings in general, it will be understood that theillustrations are for the purpose of describing preferred embodiments ofthe invention and are not intended to limit the invention thereto.

Methods and articles are described herein for enhancing the tastecharacteristics of the smoke produced by a smoking article during asmoking experience by controlling the temperature of an inner filterassociated with the smoking article. A heat adsorption or reflectivematerial, such as a metallized foil material, may be applied to thefilter to exercise the temperature control. The metallized foil may be,for example, a metallized foil insert, a metallized foil wrapper, ametallized foil core, etc. The methods described herein may apply toless than full flavor smoking articles, enhancing the tastecharacteristics to more closely replicate the taste characteristics of afull flavor smoking article. In some aspects, the taste characteristicsof a full flavor smoking article may also be further enhanced.

It is understood that the smoking article mainstream smoke is formed bycombustion products and vaporized effluents, and they are normallyclassified as particulates, semi-volatiles, and volatiles. Duringsmoking, they reach the filter and they might condense in the filterdepending on their condensation temperature/rate, therefore the smokestream shows different gas-particle compositional distribution.

According to the equilibrium gas/particle theory for aerosol developedby Pankow, Chen, and Hennigan, the gas to particle partitioningcoefficient, Kp, for aerosol may be determined as follows:

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{Kp} = \frac{{Cp}/{Mo}}{Cg}} \\{= \frac{760\mspace{11mu} {RTf}_{om}}{106\mspace{11mu} {MW}_{om}{tp}}}\end{matrix} & (1)\end{matrix}$

In Equation (1), Cp is the compound's particle-phase concentration, Mois the mass concentration of the absorbing organic phase (includingwater), and Cg is the compound's gas-phase concentration. Kp can also bepredicted from the properties of the partitioning species, where R isthe ideal gas constant, T is temperature, f_(om) is the organic fractionof total particulate mass, MW_(om) is the average molecular weight ofthe absorbing organic (and aqueous) phase, t is the particle-phaseactivity coefficient, and p is the saturation vapor pressure.

As reported in R. J. Reynolds Internal Document No. 50220 (Bates502208295-502208361) dated May 1985, the statistical relationship forN=40 smokers between ventilation technology and harshness, taste, andother subjective attributes is well documented. Provided below in TableI is a summary of these statistical relationships which show thatmainstream smoke air dilution produced by air ventilation is negativelycorrelated with a number of subjective customer measurements. Thesenegative correlations are caused by changes in filter inner temperaturewhich affect component condensation rates and gas-particle partition.Accordingly, technologies that affect filter temperature also affect thesmoke gas-particle phase balance with a consequent reduction in customersatisfaction with regard to organoleptic smoke attributes.

TABLE I Cigarette variables to subjective measurement correlations. R.J.Reynolds Internal Document No. 50220 (Bates 502208295-502208361) datedMay 1985. Tobacco Strength Harshness Mildness Taste Smooth Dilution−0.55 −0.48 0.49 −0.5  **** Puff Volume −0.54 **** **** **** **** RodVolume −0.69 −0.65 **** −0.57 0.75 Throat Mouth Tobacco Smoke ScratchSensation Impact Taste Conc. Dilution **** −0.51 −0.8 −0.73 −0.59 PuffVolume **** −0.57 −0.85 −0.74 −0.48 Rod Volume −0.77 −0.86 −0.96 −0.92−0.5 [**** = no data]

Based on the mainstream smoke gas-particle balance described in equation(1) that relates gas-particle partition to temperature, it wasdiscovered that by modulating and/or controlling Kp, it is possible toimprove the organoleptic properties of smoking articles and increase lowtar products acceptability by adult consumers. In particular, this isuseful when the smoking articles include abatement technologies, such asdilution and adsorbing filters that, change the gas to particle balanceof acceptable smoking articles.

Furthermore, it was discovered that the application of equation (1) tocigarette filter configurations indicates that Kp depends on the filtertemperature, the smoke vapor pressure of its chemical components, theaverage mass of the particle phase, and the overall mole fractionactivity coefficients of the particle phase taste-given compounds. Inaccordance with some aspects of the invention, strategies to control Kpto enhance and/or control smoking articles organoleptic propertiesinclude, for example, controlling temperature, controlling saturationvapor pressure, and/or controlling the average molecular weight ofadsorbing phases. As described in more detail herein, in accordance withsome aspects of the invention, the inner temperature of a filter of asmoking article can be controlled by wrapping the filter with metallizedfoils or other heat adsorbing or heat reflecting material.

Turning now to FIG. 1, an example of a method 100 for manufacturing asmoking article having enhanced taste characteristics is shown. As seenat 102, a heat adsorbing or reflecting material may be selected forapplying to a filter of the smoking article. The heat adsorbing orreflecting material may have one or more properties associatedtherewith, such as a type, a surface roughness, or a mass, and in someaspects, the selected heat adsorbing or reflecting material is selectedbased on at least one of the one or more properties. The heat adsorbingor reflecting material may include a metallized foil or film, such asaluminum, silver, copper, or gold. In some aspects, metallized foils orfilms can be made from chemically inert films (i.e. paper, ceramiclayers, polymer layer(s) or combination thereof) coated with a thinlayer of metal, usually but not limited to, aluminum. Metallization maybe performed by using a physical vapor deposition process. Aluminum isthe most common metal used for deposition, but other metals such asgold, silver, nickel or chromium may also be used. The metal may beheated and evaporated under vacuum conditions. The metal molecules maycondense on a cold inert substrate or polymer film, which may be unwoundnear the metal vapor source. The resultant coating is much thinner thana metal foil could be made, in the range of about 0.5 micrometers.

The metallized foil or film may behave as a thermal insulator and/orheat exchanger. As described above, the foil properties may becontrolled by varying the type, the surface roughness or/and the mass ofthe foil. For example, aluminum foil alloys may have a thermalconductivity in the range of about 120-180 W/(m.K) compared with about429 W/(m.K) for silver foil. Likewise, aluminum foil alloys may have aheat capacity of about 0.90 J/(g.K) compared with about 0.23 (J/g.K) forsilver. Accordingly, silver material when used as part of a filterwrapper of a smoking article can remove heat faster from the smokestream than an aluminum wrapper. Different metal foils can be used aloneor in combination to create zones with different thermal properties.

As seen at 104, the selected heat adsorbing or reflecting material maybe applied to the filter, wherein the heat adsorbing or reflectingmaterial may be configured to control the inner temperature of thefilter. In accordance with some aspects, the heat adsorbing orreflecting material may be provided in the body of the smoking articlefilter or applied as single/multiple filter wrapper layers, and/orco/off-axial wrappers in intimate contact with the filter materialmatrix. The heat adsorbing or reflecting material may be configured tocover 50% or more (e.g., along the axial length of the filter) of theplug wrap. It is noted that the heat adsorbing or reflecting materialmay be configured to cover less than 50% of the plug wrap. The smokingarticle may be a full flavor smoking article or a less than full flavorsmoking article. Where the smoking article is a full flavor smokingarticle, the applied heat adsorbing or reflecting material may beconfigured to raise the inner temperature of the filter.

In accordance with some aspects, the smoking article may be a less thanfull flavor smoking article, wherein the applied heat adsorbing orreflecting material is configured to lower the inner temperature of thefilter. When applied to a less than full flavor smoking article, themethod 100 may additionally include applying one or more ventilationholes to the filter, as seen at 106. Applying the one or moreventilation holes may include determining a position, size, number,and/or shape of the one or more ventilation holes to apply to the filterin order to control a temperature gradient of the filter.

Various examples of the present invention comprising metallized foiledfilter structures with and without ventilation holes are illustrated anddescribed below. It will be understood that even though theillustrations show the metallized foils only in a portion of the filter,the foil could be extended to cover, if desired, both the mouth pieceand the tobacco column. These illustrations do not show the final filterwrapper “tipping paper” that hold the cigarette filter to the tobaccocolumn. These are non-limiting examples that could be used independentlyor combined with each other as required to meet desired filteringcigarette performance. For example, the filter may optionally includefragrance encapsulates, a tobacco matrix, adsorbent resins and otherfilter functionality modifiers in the filter material with themetallized foil function.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a smoking article 200 that is constructed inaccordance with an aspect of the invention. The smoking article 200 mayinclude a tobacco column 202, a filter absorbing matrix 204, and amouthpiece 206. Filter absorbing matrix 204 may comprise, for example,cellulose acetate, paper, etc. As seen in FIG. 2, the filter absorbingmatrix 204 may be wrapped with a heat adsorbing or reflecting material208, such as a metallized foil described herein. A portion (or whole) ofthe mouthpiece 206 and/or a portion of the tobacco column 202 may alsobe wrapped with the heat adsorbing or reflecting material 208. The heatadsorbing or reflecting material 208 may be configured to cover 50% ormore (e.g., along the axial length of the filter) of the plug wrap. Itis noted that the heat adsorbing or reflecting material 208 may beconfigured to cover less than 50% of the plug wrap. For less than fullflavor smoking articles, one or more ventilation holes 210 may beincluded in the heat adsorbing/reflecting material 208.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate different views of another example of asmoking article 300 that is constructed in accordance with an aspect ofthe invention. FIG. 3A shows a longitudinal lengthwise-cut view and FIG.3B shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the smoking article 300.Smoking article 300 includes a tobacco column 302 and a mouthpiece 306.An inner adsorbing matrix 304 of the smoking article 300 may be wrappedwith a metallized foil 308. A portion (or whole) of the mouthpiece 306and/or a portion of the tobacco column 302 may also be provided with theheat adsorbing or reflecting material 308. An outer layer 310 of wrapmay be wrapped around the adsorbing matrix 304 and adsorbing orreflecting material 308. For less than full flavor smoking articles, oneor more ventilation holes 312 may be included in the outer layer 310.

In accordance with some aspects of the invention, the densities,materials, and formulations of the inner and outer adsorbing layers 304,310 may be different or substantially the same, as required to meetdesired taste and filtering performance. For example, the inner core (orlayer) 304 may include carbon embedded artificial/natural fibers and theouter layer 310 may include virgin cellulose acetate fibers. In anotherexample, both the inner and outer layers 304, 310 may include celluloseacetate having different densities.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate yet another example of a smoking article 400,in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. FIG. 4A illustrates alongitudinal lengthwise-cut view of the smoking article 400 and FIG. 4Billustrates a cross-sectional view of the smoking article 400. Smokingarticle 400 includes a tobacco column 402, a mouthpiece 406, an innerannular coaxial metallized foil 408, an outer annular coaxial metallizedfoil 412 and a filtering material 404. The filtering material 404 may beprovided in the substantially cylindrical area formed by the innermetallized foil 408. The filtering material 404 may be provided in thesubstantially cylindrical area formed between the inner and outermetallized foils 408 and 412, surrounding the metallized foil 408 andbeing surrounded by the outer metallized foil 412. For less than fillflavor smoking articles, thermal conditions and tar may be controlled byproviding one or more ventilation holes 410 in the outer metallized foil412 and/or inner metallized foil 408 (not shown).

FIGS. 5A and 5B show another example of a smoking article 500 that isconstructed according to an aspect of the invention. FIG. 5A shows alongitudinal lengthwise-cut view of the smoking article 500 and FIG. 5Bshows a cross-sectional view of the filter portion of the smokingarticle 500. In this example, a core of non-circular metallized foil(foil core) 508 is provided in a central portion of an adsorbing matrix504. The metallized foil core 508 may be positioned along and locate atthe central axis of the filter portion. For less than full flavorsmoking articles, one or more ventilation holes, such as ventilationhole 510 may be included in the adsorbing matrix 504. It is noted thatthe smoking article 500 may include a plurality of metallized foil cores508 (not shown) that may be positioned equi-distally from each other inthe filter portion of the smoking article 500. The plurality ofmetallized foil cores 508 may be aligned along the longitudinal axis ofthe filter portion and located radially (e.g., in the shape of a circle,a star, a square, or any other shape) with respect to the central axisof the filter portion.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate yet another example of a smoking article 600,in accordance with another aspect of the invention. The smoking article600 comprises an inner longitudinal cross-shaped metallized foil (foilcore) 608 provided in the center of an adsorbing matrix 604 of thefilter portion. The smoking article 600 may comprise an outer annularmetallized foil 602 that is wrapped around the adsorbing matrix 604. Inthe filter portion of the smoking article 600, heat is conducted throughboth the metallized foil core 608 and outer annular metallized foil 602.One or more ventilation holes 610 may be included in the outer annularmetallized foil 602 and/or adsorbing matrix 604 for less than fullflavor cigarettes.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show an example of a smoking article 700, constructedaccording to a further aspect of the invention, which includes multiplenon-circular (e.g., cross-shaped) metallized foils 708 provided in anadsorbing matrix 704 of the filter portion of the smoking article 700.While not shown, an outer layer of metallized foil may also be includedand wrapped around the adsorbing matrix 704. Ventilation holes 710 maybe included in the outer metallized foil (not shown) and/or theadsorbing matrix 704 for less than full flavor smoking articles.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the filter temperature change as a functionof puffs over time for a full flavor (FF) cigarette and a less than fullflavor (LF) cigarette. In particular, FIG. 8 shows an example of maximumtemperature change during a 2 second puff cycle, 28 second wait cycle,and a 50 ml syringe puff in a single port smoking machine (e.g., GPPCmeasuring apparatus 950, shown in FIG. 9B). The sampled FF cigarettesincluded 80 mm cigarettes of 134 mm H₂O pressure drop and 14 mg of tar.The sampled LF cigarettes included 100 mm cigarettes of 130 mm H₂Opressure drop.

FIG. 8 separately shows the maximum temperature changes in the filterzones of (1) a full flavor cigarette with a metallized foil as comparedto a control full flavor cigarette having no metallized foil and (2) aless than full flavor cigarette with a metallized foil compared to acontrol less than full flavor cigarette having no metallized foil. Inthe experiments, a thermocouple was placed 15 mm away from the cigarettemouth piece and the temperature was read during smoking. As seen in FIG.8, FF designates a graph of the inner filter temperature differencebetween the full flavor cigarettes (i.e., having no ventilation holes)with and without a metallized foil. LF designates a graph of the innerfilter temperature difference between less than full flavor cigarettes(i.e., having ventilation holes located 5 mm upstream from athermocouple) with and without a metallized foil.

As seen in FIG. 8, the full flavor cigarette having a metallized foilhas higher inner filter temperatures than the control FF cigarette. Thetemperature differential increases within the sensitivity of thethermocouple, as the fire cone moves closer to the mouth piece.

The opposite behavior was exhibited in less than full flavor cigaretteshaving a metallized foil. As seen in FIG. 8, the less than full flavorcigarette having a metallized foil has lower filter temperature than thecontrol LF cigarette. Moreover, the relative inner filter temperature ofthe less than full flavor cigarette having a metallized foil decreasesas the fire cone moves closer to the mouth piece during the smokingcycle. This is shown by the increasing negative temperature differentialbetween the less than full flavor cigarette having a metallized foil andthe control LF cigarette.

In the FF case the metallized foil acts as a heat shield so it containsthe heat within the metallized foil measured zone. However, in the LFcase two zones of different thermal characteristics are created. One ofthem is a warm zone which is located downstream of the ventilation holeswhich is warmed by the smoke stream, and the second, is a cool zonelocated upstream of the ventilation holes formed by the cooling of theair entering through the ventilation holes. Because the second zone iscooler than the first zone, heat moves from the hotter to the coolerzone therein, and acts as a heat sink and reduces the temperature of thewarm smoke. So in the LF case, it was discovered that ventilatedcigarettes that use metallized foil show an inner temperature gradient.Therefore, it has been determined that by controlling the position,size, number and shapes of the ventilation holes and the size andmaterial composition of the metallized foil, it is possible to controlthe filter temperature gradient.

Table II shows tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide (TNCO) delivery inaccordance with several examples illustrating principles of theinvention.

TABLE II Delivery performance of this invention 100 mm mentholated andon mentholated cigarettes versus their controls Sample Tar Nicotine COI.D. Descriptor (mg/cigarette) (mg/cigarette) (mg/cigarette) Less thanfull flavor Non-mentholated 6216 Control 9.18 +/− 0.51 0.78 +/− 0.0511.1 +/− 0.59 6221 Invention 9.18 +/− 0.29 0.76 +/− 0.03 11.5 +/− 0.07Prototype Less than full flavor Mentholated 6218 Control 9.52 +/− 0.620.78 +/− 0.04 11.0 +/− 0.40 6222 Invention 9.48 +/− 0.32 0.76 +/− 0.0211.6 +/− 0.49 Prototype Less than full flavor non-mentholated (50%length foiled filter segment) 7008 Control 10.65 +/− 0.25  1.03 +/− 0.0413.8 +/− 0.44 7010 Invention 5.38 +/− 0.21 0.55 +/− 0.01 9.10 +/− 0.26Prototype Full to less than full flavor comparison 7004 Control 15.38+/− 0.74  1.37 +/− 0.06 15.3 +/− 1.00 7007 Invention 10.73 +/− 8.82 0.98 +/− 0.09 13.8 +/− 0.72 Prototype Full flavor to less than fullflavor (100% length foiled filter segment) 8335 Control 13.6 +/− 0.8 0.93 +/− 0.03 15.9 +/− 0.7  8388 Invention 7.8 +/− 0.4 0.65 +/− 0.65 7.6+/− 0.6 Prototype

The methods described herein may be applied to less than fullnon-mentholated flavor cigarettes built with metallized foils. It hasbeen found that less than full non-mentholated flavor cigarettes builtwith metallized foils are preferred more than twice non-foilednon-mentholated control cigarettes at essentially equivalent tardelivery. Specifically, a panel of twenty-eight non-menthol smokersevaluated two packs of each prototype and completed a questioner abouttheir preference and perceived characteristics of the cigarettes.Preference was observed for metallized prototype which demonstratedstatistical superiority in overall satisfaction and liking of overalltaste, strength of taste, strength of tobacco taste, and smoothness.Strong directional superiority was observed in liking of aftertaste anddraw. The metallized prototype cigarette was statistically superior tothe control in similarity to the usual brand smoked by the panel withboth products perceived as better than the usual brand. The test productwas so different from the control and liked significantly more by thepanelists that when they smoked the control, it was rated much loweracross most of the liking scores in comparison to previous tests. FIG. 9shows the preference results. The embodiment of the present inventionwas a cigarette having 9.2 mg of tar, 0.76 mg of Nicotine, and 12 mg COper cigarette.

The methods described herein may also be applied to less than fullmentholated flavor cigarettes built with metallized foils. It has beenfound that these cigarettes are preferred more than three times thenon-foiled control mentholated cigarettes. The panel in this experimentconsisted of thirty menthol 80 mm cigarette smokers who evaluated 2packs of each prototype and completed a similar questioner as the onedescribed above. Statistical analysis of the questioners shows asignificant preference difference between this invented prototype andthe control. This difference is reflected in the overall satisfactionscores. The prototype showed significantly greater liking in “strengthof taste” with strong directional superiority in liking of “overalltaste”; it was found smoother and “closer to just about right” in“strength of taste”, “strength of tobacco taste”, and “draw.” FIG. 10shows the preference results. The embodiment of the present invention inthis study was characterized as having 9.5 mg of tar, 0.76 mg ofNicotine, and 12 mg CO per cigarette.

The examples above were for cigarettes that have equal tar delivery andwith the present invention show improved taste. Surprisingly, it wasalso discovered that the present invention can be used to achieve tasteparity for cigarettes that have half the tar delivered than the controlcigarette without the invention. Specifically, a panel of thirtytraditional 100 mm cigarette smokers evaluated two packs of eachprototype and completed a similar questioner as the one described above.The embodiment of the present invention in this study was characterizedas having 5.4 mg of tar and 0.55 mg of Nicotine per cigarette. Thecontrol cigarette was characterized as having 10.7 mg of tar and 1.03 mgof Nicotine. Statistical analysis of the “liking” scores showed parityfor the cigarettes.

Furthermore, with respect to improving the taste of a cigarette equippedwith the invention described herein, an additional benefit is derivedfrom the ability to reduce the overall tar delivery from a smokingarticle equipped with the invention described herein and achieve tasteparity to a higher tar delivered from a cigarette not equipped with theinvention described herein. The invention described herein hasparticular relevance in the ability to maintain the tastecharacteristics of a full flavor cigarette in a less than full flavorcigarette. As shown in FIG. 11, laboratory results measuring thedelivery of specific non-desirable gas phase components of the cigarettesmoke demonstrate that the embodiments of the present invention do notaffect the overall delivery of such non-desirable gas phase components.

Tables III and IV illustrate the ability to achieve taste parity orbetter between a mentholated cigarette comprising aspects of theinvention described herein and a mentholated full flavor cigarette notequipped with aspects of the invention described herein. To evaluate thetaste characteristics of the cigarettes, a panel of 29 menthol 100 mmcigarette smokers evaluated two packs of each prototype and completed aquestionnaire about the sensory differences between a 15.4 mg/cigarettecontrol and a 10.7 mg/cigarette comprising principles of the presentinvention. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out on thereturned questionnaire using a sequential monadic randomized block—2packs per product—home use. As Tables III and IV illustrate, smokers hada positive response to the cigarette implementing aspects of the presentinvention.

TABLE III Control A cigarette Control B cigarette Invented cigaretteANOVA Variable 15 mg tar/cigarette 10.7 mg tar/cigarette 10.7 mgtar/cigarette Probability > F Overall Liking (1-9) 5.89a 5.55 6.06a0.590 1 = Dislike, 9 = Like Extremely Overall Taste (1-7) 4.53a 4.07a4.38a 0.3356 1 = Extremely weak, 9 = Like Extremely strong Tobacco Taste(1-7) 4.65a 4.03a 4.24a 0.162 1 = Extremely weak, 9 = Like Extremelystrong Aftertaste (1-7) 4.03a 4.03a 3.82a 0.810 1 = Extremely weak, 9 =Like Extremely strong Menthol Taste 4.10a 3.31b 3.69a 0.062* 1 =Extremely weak, 9 = Like Extremely strong Smooth (1-7) 4.65a 4.97a 5.10a0.391 1 = Extremely harsh, 9 = Like Extremely smooth Draw (1-7) 2.96a3.07a 3.41a 0.173 1 = Extremely easy, 9 = Like Extremely hard Similarityto Usual Brand (1-7) 3.76a 3.03a 4.00a 0.101 1 = Not similar at all, 9 =Like Extremely similar *90% confidence index level; ** 95% confidenceindex level, if letter is different, then significant to the 95% level(Dunnett's Method)

TABLE IV Smoker preferences Control A Control B Invented cigarettecigarette cigarette 15.4 mg tar/ 10.0 mg tar/ 10.7 mg tar Attributescigarette cigarette cigarette Is robust and full-bodied Yes Yes Yes Haspremium tobacco taste Yes Yes Is soothing and easy to smoke Yes YesSmokes great all day Yes Yes Yes Has the fullest possible flavor Yes YesIs refreshing Yes Helps me enjoy life Yes Is mild and flavorful Yes YesHas pleasant menthol taste Yes Has right balance of menthol Yes Yes andtobacco taste Tastes like a high quality Yes Yes Yes brand

Table V illustrates the ability to achieve taste parity or betterbetween a mentholated silver class cigarette comprising aspects of theinvention described herein and a mentholated gold class cigarette notequipped with aspects of the invention described herein. To evaluate thetaste characteristics of the cigarettes, a panel of 60 consumersevaluated two packs of each sample and completed a questionnaire aboutthe sensory differences between a 14 mg/cigarette control and an 8mg/cigarette comprising principles of the present invention. ANOVAanalysis was carried out on the returned questionnaire using asequential monadic randomized block—2 packs per product—home use. Asshown in Table V, smokers' opinions of the cigarette implementationaspects of the present invention were high.

TABLE V Control Invented cigarette cigarette 14 mg tar/ 8 mg tarVariable cigarette cigarette Overall Liking 5.5 5.6 1 = did not like atall, 9 = greatest imaginable liking Liking of Strength of Taste 5.3 5.31 = did not like at all, 9 = greatest imaginable liking Just about rightStrength of Taste 3.0 a b 2.8 b 1 = much too weak, 3 = just about right,5 = much too strong Cooling Sensation 5.2 a 5.9 b 1 = not like at all, 9= greatest cooling imaginable Liking of Menthol Taste 5.4 5.4 1 = didnot like at all, 9 = greatest imaginable liking Just about Right MentholTaste 2.8 2.9 1 = much too weak, 3 = just about right, 5 = much toostrong Smooth 5.5 a 5.9 b 1 = not smooth at all, 10 = extremely smoothSimilarity to Usual Brand 5.2 5.0 1 = Not similar at all, 9 = LikeExtremely similar Different letters indicates significant differences at90% confidence index level

In addition, table VI illustrates the ability to achieve taste parity orbetter between a nonmentholated Gold class cigarette comprising aspectsof the invention described herein and a non-mentholated Gold classcigarette not equipped with aspects of the invention described herein.To evaluate the taste characteristics, a panel of 28 Gold classnon-menthol smokers evaluated two packs of each sample and completed aquestionnaire about the sensory differences between the cigarettecomprising aspects of the present invention and a control at the sametar level. ANOVA analysis was carried out on the returned questionnaireusing a sequential monadic randomized block—2 packs per product—homeuse.

TABLE VI Control cigarette Invented cigarette 9.2 mg 9.2 mg ANOVAVariabie tar/cigarette tar/cigarette Probability Preference 29% 57%Overall Satisfaction (1-10) 5.571 7.143 0.007** 1 = ExtremelyDissatisfied, 10 = Extremely Satisfied Overall Taste (1-10) 5.393 6.9290.002** 1 = Disliked Extremely, 10 = Like Extremely Strength of Taste(1-10) 5.393 7.036 0.046** 1 = Disliked Extremely, 10 = Like ExtremelyStrength of Tobacco Taste (1-10) 5.179 7.179 0.001** 1 = DislikedExtremely, 10 = like Extremely Aftertaste (1-10) 5.357 6.714 0.075 ns 1= Extremely weak, 10 = Like Extremely Smooth (1-10) 5.929 7.357 0.042**1 = Not Smooth at all, 10 = Extremely Smooth Draw (1-10) 6.321 7.6070.062 ns 1 = Disliked Extremely, 10 = Like Extremely Strength of TasteJAR (1-5) 3.643 3.214 0.688 ns 1 = Too strong, 3 = Just right, 5 = Tooweak Strength of Tobacco Taste JAR (1-5) 3.500 3.179 0.159 ns 1 = Toostrong, 3 = Just right, 5 = Too weak Aftertaste JAR (1-5) 3.750 3.4640.210 ns 1 = Too much, 3 = Just right, 5 = Too little Draw JAR (1-5)2.964 3.071 0.436 ns 1 = Too easy, 3 = Just right, 5 = Too hardSimilarity to Usual Brand (1-5) 4.714 6.964 0.001** 1 = Not similar atall, 5 = Extremely similar Overall Similarity to Usual Brand (1-5) 2.1072.571 0.869 ns 1 = Better, 3 = Same, 5 = Worse **95% confidence indexlevel, if letter is different, then significant to the 95% level(Dunnett's Method)

According to the present invention, Kp was determined according toequation (1) based on Cp and Cg values measured using the method shownin FIG. 12A and a gas and particulate phase component (GPPC) measuringapparatus 1250 shown in FIG. 12B. The GPPC measuring apparatus 1250comprises a holder 1222 and smoking and measuring machine 1228. Thesmoking and measuring machine 1228 comprises a smoker machine 1204(shown in FIG. 12A) and a spectrometer (not shown) that may include amass spectrometer 1206 (shown in FIG. 12A) for measuring mass of gasand/or particulate phase components via spectrometry and a lightspectrometer 1208 (shown in FIG. 12A) for measuring, e.g., Tyndal Effectvia light absorption spectroscopy.

Referring to FIGS. 12A and 12B, a cigarette 1202 is smoked by thesmoking machine 1204 in the GPPC measuring apparatus 1250, and theresultant smoke stream may be substantially simultaneously sampled andmeasured by the smoking and measuring machine 1228 via mass spectrometry1206 and light absorption spectroscopy 1208. According to this method,the cigarette 1202 may be held in position by the holder 1222, which maycomprise a circular device containing three rubber diaphragms and a feltpad (not shown). In the smoking and measuring machine 1228, when a puffis taken by the smoking machine 1204, the smoke may be transferredthrough the holder 1222 into a light cell (not shown) in the lightspectrometer 1208 where the smoke may interact with a light beam toproduce a change in voltage associated with the smoke inside the lightcell. The smoking and measuring machine 1228 may comprise a Cambridgepad (not shown) positioned behind the light cell to collect particulatematerials and prevent particulate materials from entering a gas samplingregion (not shown). In the smoking and measuring machine 1228, the gasphase components pass through the filter pad and travel into a gassampling block (not shown) which may contain a pressure monitor (notshown) and a transfer line (not shown) connected to the massspectrometer 1206. The mass spectrometer 1206 may monitor a pre-selectedmass (mass-to-charge (m/z)).

Alternatively or in addition to enhancing taste characteristics of asmoking article by controlling the temperature, other methods may beused. For example, in some aspects, the saturation vapor pressure of thesmoke produced during a smoking experience may be controlled by addingto the tobacco column/filter material ingredients that reduce orincrease the vapor pressure such as glycols, fragrances, salts,amorphous/crystalline balance of solid fragrances, hydrophilic polymers,hydrogels, etc. In some aspects, the average molecular weight ofabsorbing phases may be controlled by increasing or reducing the filterdensity and/or the filter material composition.

While the invention has been described in terms of exemplaryembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the inventioncan be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of theappended claims. These examples given above are merely illustrative andare not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs,embodiments, applications or modifications of the invention.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of manufacturing a smoking article havingenhanced taste characteristics, comprising: selecting a heat adsorbingor reflecting material to apply to a filter of the smoking article, theheat adsorbing or reflecting material having one or more propertiesassociated therewith; and applying the heat adsorbing or reflectingmaterial to the filter, the at least one heat adsorbing or reflectingmaterials being configured to control the inner temperature of thefilter.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the heat adsorbing orreflecting material comprises a metallized foil material.
 3. The methodof claim 2 wherein the metallized foil material comprises one ofaluminum, silver, copper or gold.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein themetallized foil material comprises a laminated material made of one ormore of aluminum, silver, copper, or gold.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein applying the heat adsorbing or reflecting material comprisesinserting the heat adsorbing or reflecting material into he body of thefilter.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the heat adsorbing orreflecting material comprises wrapping a filter absorbing matrix of thefilter with the heat adsorbing or reflecting material.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the smoking article comprises a less than full flavorsmoking article, and wherein the method further comprises applying oneor more ventilation holes to the filter.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the one or more properties comprise at least one of a type ofheat adsorbing or reflecting material, a surface roughness, or a mass.9. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the heat adsorbing orreflecting material to apply is based on at least one of the one or moreproperties.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the smoking articlecomprises a full flavor smoking article, and wherein the applied heatadsorbing or reflecting material is configured to raise the innertemperature of the filter.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thesmoking article comprises a less than full flavor smoking article, andwherein the applied heat adsorbing or reflecting material is configuredto lower the inner temperature of the filter.
 12. The method of claim11, further comprising: determining at least one of a position, size,number and shape of one or more ventilation holes to be applied to thefilter o control a temperature gradient of the filter.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising: determining at least one of a size and amaterial composition of the heat adsorbing or reflecting material tocontrol a temperature gradient of the filter.
 14. A smoking article,comprising: a filter material that captures and substantially removesunwanted components in an aerosol; and a foil that is configured tocontrol temperature of the aerosol, so as to provide a full-bodiedflavor to the aerosol.
 15. The smoking article of claim 14, wherein alongitudinal length of the foil comprises at least 50% of a longitudinallength of the filter material.
 16. The smoking article of claim 14,further comprising: a hole provided in the foil to control a temperatureof the aerosol.
 17. The smoking article of claim 14, wherein the foilcomprises an annular axial foil material.
 18. The smoking article ofclaim 14, wherein the foil comprises: aluminum; silver; copper; or gold.19. The smoking article of claim 14, wherein the foil comprises alaminated material made of one or more of: aluminum; silver; copper orgold.
 20. The smoking article of claim 14, wherein the foil isconfigured to decrease temperature of the aerosol.
 21. A smokingarticle, comprising: a filter material that captures and substantiallyremoves unwanted components in an aerosol; and a foil that is configuredto control temperature of he aerosol, so as to provide a full-bodiedflavor to the aerosol, wherein: a longitudinal length of the foilcomprises at least 50% of a longitudinal length of the filter material;the foil comprises a hole to control temperature of the filter material;the foil comprises an annular axial foil made of at least one ofaluminum, silver, copper and gold.